PART II. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1. Legal Proceedings
From time to time, the Company may be involved in various legal and regulatory proceedings, lawsuits and other claims arising in the ordinary course of its business. The amount, if any, of ultimate liability with respect to such matters cannot be determined, but despite the inherent uncertainties of litigation, management believes that the ultimate disposition of any such proceedings and exposure will not have, individually or taken together, a material adverse effect on the financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows of the Company. Set forth below are material updates to legal proceedings of the Company.
On December 20, 2018, a purported shareholder of the Company filed a complaint in a putative class and derivative action in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (the “Delaware Court”), captioned Robert Garfield v. BlackRock Mortgage Ventures, LLC et al., Case No. 2018-0917-KSJM (the “Garfield Action”). The Garfield Action alleges, among other things, that certain current directors and officers of the Company breached their fiduciary duties to the Company and its shareholders by, among other things, agreeing to and entering into the Reorganization without ensuring that the Reorganization was entirely fair to the Company or public shareholders. The Reorganization was approved by 99.8% of voting shareholders on October 24, 2018. On December 19, 2019, the Delaware Court denied a motion to dismiss filed by the Company and certain of its directors and officers. While the Company and its co-defendants believe the Garfield Action is without merit and expressly disclaim any wrongdoing, they have collectively agreed to settle the Garfield Action for an amount equal to $6.85 million in order to avoid the ongoing costs of litigation and further distractions to their respective businesses. A settlement agreement was filed with the Delaware Court on October 9, 2020, and is currently pending approval. The Company’s share of the settlement amount will be paid entirely by one of the Company’s insurers.
On November 5, 2019, Black Knight Servicing Technologies, LLC, a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of Black Knight, Inc. (“BKI”), filed a Complaint and Demand for Jury Trial in the Circuit Court for the Fourth Judicial Circuit in and for Duval County, Florida (the “Florida State Court”), captioned Black Knight Servicing Technologies, LLC v. PennyMac Loan Services, LLC, Case No. 2019-CA-007908 (the “BKI Complaint”). Allegations contained within the BKI Complaint include breach of contract and misappropriation of MSP® System trade secrets in order to develop an imitation mortgage-processing system intended to replace the MSP® System. The BKI Complaint seeks damages for breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets, injunctive relief under the Florida Uniform Trade Secrets Act and declaratory judgment of ownership of all intellectual property and software developed by or on behalf of PLS as a result of its wrongful use of and access to the MSP® System and related trade secret and confidential information. On March 30, 2020, the Florida State Court granted a motion to compel arbitration filed by the Company. While no assurance can be provided to the ultimate outcome of this claim or the account of any losses to the Company, the Company believes the BKI Complaint is without merit and plans to vigorously defend the matter, which remains pending. Any potential range of loss cannot be reasonably estimated at this time primarily because the matter involves complex factual and legal issues; there is substantial uncertainty regarding any alleged damages, and the matter is at a preliminary stage of litigation.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
There have been no material changes from the risk factors set forth under Item 1A. “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, filed with the SEC on February 28, 2020, except for the following:
Our business, financial condition and results of operations have been, and will likely continue to be, adversely affected by the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented economic, financial and public health disruptions that have adversely affected, and are likely to continue to adversely affect, our business, financial condition and results of operations. The extent to which COVID-19 continues to negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including the scope and duration of the pandemic and actions taken by governmental authorities and other third parties in response to COVID-19.